How to Write 桁 (héng) — Meaning “beam; purlin”

Imagine a wooden beam (木) placed across a path or row (行) in a building—the beam supports the roof as you walk along the row. Visualize the right side 行 as two people walking side by side on a beam, emphasizing its use as a structural support. This links the shape to the meaning of 'beam' or 'purlin.'

The left radical 木 must be written with a short diagonal stroke that does not extend too far, and the right side 行 has two distinct parts: a left double-dropping stroke (彳) and a right vertical hook (亍). A common mistake is making the left 木 too wide or misaligning the horizontal strokes of 行 with the wood radical. Keep the character balanced by letting the left side occupy about one-third of the square.

桁 (héng) means 'beam' or 'purlin' and contains 行 on the right, while 杪 (miǎo) means 'treetop' or 'tip of a branch' and has 少 (few/small) on the right. 杭 (háng) refers to 'a boat' or 'to sail' and is also the short form of Hangzhou, with 亢 on the right. Visually, 桁 uses 行 (four strokes), 杪 uses 少 (three strokes), and 杭 uses 亢 (four strokes with a different top shape).

桁 appears mainly in engineering and architecture terms like 桁架 (truss) and 桁条 (purlin), so it is not a common daily character. In traditional Chinese wood architecture, 桁 refers to the horizontal beams that support roof tiles, a key element in ancient building techniques. The character is also used in some place names or surnames, but always retains its structural meaning.

Common words containing 桁 include: 桁架 (héng jià) — truss (structural frame); 衣桁 (yī héng) — Clothes rack; 桁条 (héng tiáo) — purlin.